Westin Whister Resort & Spa, Whister BC pre 2006 [Master Thread]
 

This opened in April, and I am interested in planning a trip to Whistler next spring for some skiing. Anyone been there or heard about it? Any reviews?

I stayed there in May, it is FANTASTIC!!! Can't say enough good things about the design, fitout, view, etc. The staff were extremely friendly as well. Platinum gift was some chocolate (in the shape of a ski and boots!).

Did have one problem - as the hotel was so new they were having problems with the air conditioning rendering my room cold. When I opened my door for the first time there was a ladder in the way!!! Hotel offered to move me, but to a smaller room as nothing was available (there was a conference on at the time). Stayed in the same room with the fire on, but at checkout there was no adjustment to my bill :-(

While I'm sure the Westin is great at Whistler, I'd really look at renting a private condo or cabin while you're there. We've done this the past three Winters for a week or two every year, and it's fantastic.

It definitely gives you more of a "get-away-from-it-all" feeling than staying in a hotel. YMMV...

Jon

Where is it in the village? The last time that I checked on the Sheraton web site, there was no hotel in Whistler.

Who cares about the Hotel it is a amazing mountain just fantastic and huge. I thought you were a young lawyer don't you need to be billing 80 hours a week, can't do that skiing! Have a great time there spend some time in Vancouver on the way up

Haven't stayed at the Westin in Whistler, but have been to Whistler when it was being built. It's right at the ski lift up to Whistler mountain and just a few steps from the lift to Blackcomb. GREAT ski resort!!!!! If you don't really want a car (and you don't need one), you might consider takng the train up from Vancouver. The ride (or the drive) from Vancouver to Whistler is one of THE most gorgeous scenic routes in the world.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the great info.
One other question- I was thinking of going up there over Thanksgiving. has anyone skiied there over the end of November and/or early December, and can they tell me what the conditions were like?
I know March is generally best, but would this be terrible? My standards are kind of low, as I've never been to a top ski resort....

BoSox

Nov is at the start of the season. The conditions are not great. If you are not picky, you should have a good time, with the apres-ski conditions http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I've been there opening weekend in November. Their conditions are similar to those in Lake Tahoe, if you ever ski there. The snow is wetter and heavier in November and December and it won't be fully filled in yet. February and March are when it's really good there with drier snow. It was really clouded over when I was there, which I think is also pretty typical for early season. I never could see the top of the mountain from the base. Heck, I couldn't even see a third of the way up. Still a good time skiing tho. Stayed at Chateau Whistler, which has a pool that's part indoors/part outdoors. Swimming in the snow has got to be one of life's greater pleasures.

One more thing ... if they have enough snow, they'll open up the weekend before the official opening weekend. This is pretty nice because it's a little cheaper (hotels too) and not as crowded, usually just locals. Tough to bank on tho.



[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 06-21-2000).]

have been at the Château Whistler (over US-Thanksgiving) in nov-98, nov-97 and nov-96.

The hotel rates (double, no breakfast, my CP-Club membership allowed upgrades to the mountain-side all three times) were always great (I booked pre-season-rates through Swiss tour operator Kuoni) at Sfr 120 (96), SFr 160 (97) and SFr 180 (98). The can$ was then on parity with the SFr.

Skiing (Blackcomb and Whistler) was limited to 60%, 60%, 50% of all lifts. Going to the top was only possible twice on Blackcomb and once on the Whistler side.

The men's world-cup downhill (which was always scheduled for the weekend just after US_Thanksgiving) was cancelled all three times: once early for not enough snow, once for to much snow (heavy snowfall on race-day), and once for heavy rain during the whole weekend.

[This message has been edited by Rudi (edited 06-22-2000).]

The 2-year old Westin Whistler is a great hotel. It is divided into East and West towers. The two towers are separated by a corridor of shops - Salomon (their first retail store ever), Helly Hansen, etc.. East tower is ever so slightly closer to the lifts but West tower is where all the hotel facilities i.e. spa, front desk, restaurants are located. The West Tower is nine stories tall. The tenth floor is sold as condos ($300k Canadian for those who are interested). The hotel charges a $15 resort fee for 1) free local calls, 2) ski storage (free if you rent from on-site Salomon ski shop), and 3) free use of health club. Although I declined it at check in it still showed up on the final bill. Grrr.

The hot tubs are a bit smallish. One is outside and one inside. The shallow swimming pool is both inside and outside divided by a vinyl swim-through curtain. Self-parking in the underground garage is $16 a day. If one wants to save money, it is fairly easier to park outside. The hotel is a very easy and short walk away from the gondolas that go to both Whistler and Blackcomb. Very convenient in my opinion. The spa offers a comprehensive menu of service. About same price as US. Lobby was a bit bare. Definitely not as good as that of Chateau Whistler.

I booked a Junior Suite at westin.com and when checked in, was upgraded to a one bedroom suite. My wife and I were assigned to a room at the East tower. We were wondering why there was a Do Not Disturb sign hanging on the front door and soon realized why - there was another family in there! We went back down to the front desk where the concierge/check-in clerk apologized profusely. She then assigned us to room 368 which is an one bedroom suite and also the largest room on the third floor. A bottle of British Columbia sparkling wine was then sent up as an apology/platinum amenity gift. Our ski passes, order through Starwood Concierge (who called the hotel while I was on the phone), was delivered to our room when we were out to dinner.

The suite contains a coat closet, a marble bathroom with shower stall and jacuzzi/soak tub, and a bedroom with queen sized (which I prefer) Heavenly Bed. The bedroom is very small - two people cannot pass by each other around the bed. The living room area is a lot more spacious. There is a queen sized sofa which is also sofa bed. The coffee table functions as a storage chest for the comforters of the sofa bed. Plenty of end tables and storage space. The sofa faces the gas fireplace and the TV and a small work desk. To the left of the sofa is the impressive kitchen. It is equipped with a mid sized Sub-Zero refrigerator with a functioning freezer and other high quality kitchen appliances like dishwasher, oven, and microwave. All kitchen stuff (cookware, utensils, napkins, etc) is included as well. To the right is a large terrace (which I am not sure all rooms has). Great to use during the summer, I'd imagine.

The room rate was $140 CAD which is virtualyl identical to the CP Whistler rate provided by Rudi.

All in all, I rate this property a 4 (Lodge at Koele, St. Regis DC being a 5).

BoSoxFan - The season opens Nov. 22 and as you can imagine not many trails and lifts are open. There were definitely some patches on Whistler but on Blackcomb there was plenty of fresh powder. It really depends on the weather. The visibility was not good at some locations. Again - weather. The resort itself is much better than the only other one I have been too - Mammoth in California.

P.S. - I love Canada! There is free T-1 internet access 600 feet up in the middle of Whistler. No, I did not surf Flyertalk. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Just e-mailed about 20 close friends. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Anyone know what this property/area is like during summer (beginning of August)? I am planning a honeymoon stay for that time and would appreciate comments. Thanks.

While not only growing in the terms of local population, Whistler is becoming an all-season resort with lots of golf course/condo developments. It'll be pleasant for hiking and mountain biking too (but bring mosquito repellent). It's fairly crowded but not as bad as winter. You might want to consider a BC Rail excursion up there to take in the scenery.

Whistler was awesome! I didnt need a car, just took the bus from the airport to the hotel and back (about 106 CAD) and once in whistler, you can walk to most of the major attractions. They have lots of shops in the area, and at the hotel.

I got a 9th floor studio suite with the vaulted ceiling, mountain view, right over the whister lift. The loft suites are cool (I like lofts) but have been warned they can get hot in the summer.

The hot tubs are really small, especially the one outside. The pool was kinda cold in march, but that was to be expected http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
http://www.whistler-blackcomb.com/ has some great information about the area. Lots of botiques and restaurants. I wasnt too impressed with the food, but if I every remember the name of the restaurant, i'll let yall know, it was the only good one I ate at there!

My wife and I stayed up there late July 2000 for a free weekend through the Amex promotion. Neither of us had been to Whistler before, but we enjoyed our stay. Plenty to do up there in the summer - mountain biking, golf, rafting, hiking, etc.

Our room was a Junior Suite. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it was a queen size bed. I don't recall whether there were king size available.